iPad 2: UK / US Pre-Order Confusion

Although Apple announced an official release date as well as pricing for the new iPad 2 tablet, we were a bit surprised to see that no pre-order details were mentioned at the event. A few hours on, the Apple store still contains no information about when customers will be able to pre-order the device.

For those who watched a live blog as the details rolled in, it’s perhaps a little confusing, since Steve Jobs repeatedly said that the iPad 2 would be available from ‘Day 1′, although we now know that the release date for the device will be March 11th, the same date that the iOS 4.3 software update goes live for other devices too.

If you head to the US Apple Store now, there’s further confusion as it states ‘Order starting March 11 and get free shipping’. If Apple plans to open orders on March 11, that obviously means that customers will get it later than the 11th date, unless it’s an error on their part which they haven’t realised yet.

UK customers don’t even have the pleasure of seeing the March 11th order message on their store, as Apple are yet to update the site with the new information, which again is a bit disappointing on their part.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you a bit confused on the whole pre-order issue? We’ll update you when the situation becomes clearer. Let us have our iPad 2 Apple, now!